The Airborne Lifeline Foundation (ALF), provider of the first regularly scheduled air medical service in Africa, will expand its operations into the nation of Malawi following the donation of a Gulfstream III business jet by a New York real-estate developer known for supporting medical philanthropies.

ALF Co-founder and Treasurer Thomas Gibson said he learned of the offer from developer Lloyd Goldman and his wife Victoria on receiving a short email message proposing the donation. Gibson contacted AOPA for help arranging the transaction, which he said will pave the way for many people in southern Africa who have never visited a doctor to begin receiving regular medical care.

“The Goldmans’ donation provides the impetus for us to develop and execute on plans to expand,” he said in a news release. “PEPFAR (The United States President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief) officials, local health organizations, and our medical partners in Africa had been asking us to expand. We just didn't have the resources. Now we do,” said Gibson, who is a 30-year AOPA member.

Organizations including AOPA, the New Generation Foundation, ExcelAire, Executive Fliteways at Long Island/MacArthur Airport in Islip, N.Y., and the FAA facilitated the transaction, Gibson said.

“Everyone involved understood the humanitarian mission and pulled together to make it all happen,” he said.

A Bloomberg/Business Week executive profile describes Goldman as president of BLDG Management in New York City, trustee for the North Shore Long Island Jewish Health System Inc., and a member of the International Advisory Committee of the Israel National Institute for Health Policy and Health ServicesResearch.

Dan Namowitz

Associate Editor Web

Associate Editor Web Dan Namowitz has been writing for AOPA in a variety of capacities since 1991. He has been a flight instructor since 1990 and is a 30-year AOPA member.